Acer Predator Helios 500 review: GTX 1070 vs Vega 56

Posted 2023-06-07 08:29:43

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If you look at the specs of any game laptop made today, there's a 99.9% chance that it has an Intel processor and an Nvidia graphics chip. That's mostly because AMD hasn't paid much attention to gaming computers in the last couple of years, but that's slowly starting to change. For example, Acer Predator Helios 500 17 amd laptop comes with either AMD or Nvidia processors. The first one has a Radeon RX Vega 56 chip from AMD, while the second one has a full-size GTX 1070.

But instead of reviewing each one separately, I thought I'd try something different this time and put both types head-to-head to see which one you should buy. At the moment, both computers cost about the same in the US ($1898 for the Nvidia and $1829 for the AMD), but in the UK, the AMD one costs about £300 more.

First, let's look at what these two computers have in common. Both have a screen size of 17.3 inches and are big and heavy. They are meant to replace desktop computers instead of being movable like the Asus ROG Zephyrus S. Both have a screen of 1920x1080 and a refresh rate of 144Hz. They also work with their own variable frame rate technologies. The Nvidia model has G-Sync, and the AMD model has FreeSync. This makes sure that games run smoothly and there isn't much screen tearing.

But when it comes to the quality of the pictures, they are not the same. Surprisingly, the AMD model has slightly more true colors than the Nvidia model because it covers 87% of the sRGB color gamut instead of 85%. Even though this difference is small and not easy to spot when looking at two pictures side by side, it is surprising given that Nvidia has high standards for G-Sync panels.

The AMD Helios 500, on the other hand, has a peak brightness of 287cd/m2, while the Nvidia Helios 500's peak brightness is 316cd/m2. Most likely, you won't need brightness settings that high for everyday use. At 75% light, the AMD screen seemed fine. But if you use your laptop outside or in a place with a lot of light, the extra brightness can be helpful.

The Nvidia Helios 500 also has a deeper black level than its AMD cousin, with 0.24cd/m2 compared to 0.29cd/m2 for the AMD. Both black levels are good, but the closer they are to 0.00cd/m2, which is real black, the better. The contrast ratio of the Nvidia Helios 500 is 1342:1 compared to 969:1 for the AMD, but the change isn't that big when you look at them side by side.

Both Helios 500 computers have the same RGB keyboard, which has a lot of travel and good tactile feedback. It's easy to learn how to type quickly on it, and the fonts aren't too "gamey" like on some other gaming computers. But the laptop is still made in a way that is very much aimed toward gamers.

Both computers have the same ports and ways to connect to other things. These include HDMI and DisplayPort inputs, a full-sized Ethernet port, four USB ports (three USB3 ports and one USB-C port), a Thunderbolt 3 port, and separate headphone and microphone jacks. The only thing that's missing is a slot for an SD card.

Now, let's talk about how well games run. The Radeon RX Vega 56 from AMD and the GeForce GTX 1070 from Nvidia are both good desktop graphics cards. So, it was interesting to see how their laptop versions would compare when put in the same computer. In general, the GTX 1070 was a little bit better.

In many test games, the frame rates of both computers were low, but the GTX 1070 was able to get slightly higher maximum frame rates, which led to slightly higher average frame rates than the Vega 56.

For example, on the highest quality settings in Monster Hunter: World, both computers reached a low of between 47 and 49 frames per second (fps). But the GTX 1070's top frame rate was 65 fps, while the Vega 56's was 60 fps. This gave the GTX 1070 a higher average of 57 fps than the Vega 56's average of 54 fps.

In The Witcher III, the same thing was seen. On ultra quality settings at 1080p, neither laptop dropped below 61fps, but the GTX 1070 reached a high of 84fps in some places while the Vega 56 only reached a high of 61fps.

Moving on, it was clear that the GTX 1070 was better at some games. For example, on the top settings of Final Fantasy XV, the GTX 1070 got between 56 and 66 frames per second, while the Vega 56 got between 48 and 62 frames per second. It's important to note that the GTX 1070 can handle Nvidia's extra features better. When TurfEffects was turned on, the Vega 56 worked well, but when HairWorks was turned on, it struggled, which makes sense since it doesn't support Nvidia tech.

The GTX 1070 also did better than the Vega 56 in Shadow of the Tomb Raider. In the internal test, the GTX 1070 averaged 56fps, while the Vega 56 averaged 46fps. But when I changed the settings to High and used basic SMAA, the Vega 56 closed the gap with an average of 72fps, just four frames behind the GTX 1070. With an average of 56 frames per second in Total War: Warhammer II, the GTX 1070 once again came out on top, beating the Vega 56.

Overall, the choice is clear for people who want to buy in the US. Even though some of the differences in speed are small, the GTX 1070 is better in every game, making it the obvious choice, especially since the prices are about the same.

But in the UK, where the price difference is £300, the AMD model is still a good choice. Both models got almost the same average frame rates in Metro Exodus. On Ultra settings, the Vega 56 got 47fps on average, while the GTX 1070 got 49fps. This is very amazing and helps make up for the fact that it doesn't do as well in other areas.

The AMD Ryzen 7 2700 processor in the Vega 56 model is also better for handling than the Intel Core i7-8750H processor in the GTX 1070 Helios 500. In Geekbench 4, the multicore score for the Ryzen chip was 21910, which was higher than the score for the Intel chip, which was 19051. Even though the Intel chip scored 4654 in single-core tests, while the Ryzen chip scored 3991, I didn't notice a big change in speed when I used them every day.

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